Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-17

location before the decree OF the court
gave force to the verdict OF the Jury rem
dered yesterday, the first relocation would
get the benefit, being the first in line, and
certainly q third relocator would have no
claim. Mr.. Hamilton neither made or ad-
vised q relocation at any time, and has no
interest whatever in any location OF the
ground in question. This is q case IN
which John Ducie and Silas King had APP
piled for and obtained q patent from the
United States to the Hesperus quartz lode
merous parties living on the ground, through
their attorney, l.. ]. Hamilton, forwarded
q large number Of ~afidavits to the Com
missioner of the General Land Office,
stating in substance that there was
NO VALUABLE MINERAL LEAD
discovered within the limits of the claim;
that the necessary $500 OF work and i'm
provements had not been placed on the
ground within the time from location to
purchase, and that not to exceed about
$125 worth of work had been expended
thereon; that the same had been taken up,
not for mining purposes, but to sell the sur-
face for town lots. After receiving and con-
sidering these affidavits, Special Agent
Gum came on from Washington and in.
spected the premises, reporting in iavor OF
vacating and annulling the Hesperus pat
emit. Suit was brought a little over a year
ago in the United States district court at
Deer Lodge by the Government as plaintiff
against Ducie and King as defendants, to
cancel the patent on the ground Of fraud IN
the procurement OF the same. The case
term of the District Court
at Deer Lodge. District Attorney Smith,
T. L. Napton and L. J. Hamilton ap-
peared as counsel for the Government and
w. Scallan, ESQ. for the defendants. The
case took up five days before a jury who
yesterday rendered a general verdict for
the Government, but was sent back to
complete their verdict by finding on the
special questions of TACT submitted to
them. The jury afterward brought in spe'
cial findings in favor Of the Government
and in support of their general verdict.
This is the first mineral patent cancelled
for fraud in the Territory OF Montana, and
is a very rare occurrence in the courts o.
the United States. The
GROUND Is QUITE VALUABLE
as it adioins the Butte townsite on the
southeast and is eligible as building sites
which will be included in the limits OF Butte
City under the proposed Incorporation
There are now over fifty houses on thu
ground owned by persons who were inter
ested in having the Hesperus patent va
Gated. The patentees at the time OF suit
still own one-third interest in the ground
Michael and Ed Hickey, George W. Staple
ton and John Robinson owned another
third and the remaining third belonged tt
James A. Murray, and other parties tt
whom he had sold surface lots. All thes'
parties but the defendants Duci'
and Kirg interviewed in the action for theil
interests in the property, but the court de
cided during the trial that it tn
! patent was set aside the deeds of the inter
venors would go with it, SO that under tn
| verdict of the jury the whole OF the grount
in question is left in the condition it wa
found in at the time OF the location. Tn
property in question is probably worth il
the neighborhood of a hundred Thousand
dollars, and the case is altogether one o
the most important ever decided IN tn
Territory, and reflects great credit on tn
counsel for the Government, and especial.
Mr.. Hamilton, whose line of attack on tn
defendants title was ingenious and particu
larry displayed in the examination OF wit
nesses at the trial.